We have begun Lent united with the whole Church. This is a beautiful and appropriate time to continue on the path of our conversion.

As Missionary Servants of the Poor religious, we make the three vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. But to these are added two beautiful promises. The first is the profession of a special love for the Eucharist and the second is we promise continual conversion. We want to comment on this last one a little.

The MSP feel small before God and the Church. We don’t attempt to do thousands and thousands of things in which Christ may not be present and which we do for ourselves. We desire instead to start on a path of continual conversion since we are conscious that the missionary can only meet the poor if he is completely full of the love of Christ.

Our main task as missionaries is to allow the Holy Spirit to work in our hearts to make them like the heart of Christ. We must “let this mind be in [us] which was also in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 2:5). May Lent then be an appropriate time to enter more deeply into the process of conversion.

We ask that you never tire of praying for us so that we may never become simply functionaries who do “evangelizing” work, but true lovers of Christ and Mary our Mother so that, formed by the Holy Spirit and always moving toward God the Father, we may bring Him many souls, not only of the poor, but also of all of you who help us.

God bless you.